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Why are Americans so shortsighted

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Dox47
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20 May 2014, 11:21 pm

Kraichgauer wrote:
Sure Americans have short memories. Look at how the tea party and the radical rigth of the Republican party has deified Ronald Reagan. Almost everything they say about him as a severely uncompromising conservative is imagined, refusing to admit that he in fact had raised taxes, worked across the aisles with Democrats, and even passed a law ensuring that the indigent can't be turned away from emergency rooms. In fact, had he lived today, they'd be calling him a RINO (Republican In Name Only).


Says the guy who repeatedly fails to notice that he elected George W Bush wearing black face, twice.


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20 May 2014, 11:21 pm

Kraichgauer wrote:
Sure Americans have short memories. Look at how the tea party and the radical rigth of the Republican party has deified Ronald Reagan. Almost everything they say about him as a severely uncompromising conservative is imagined, refusing to admit that he in fact had raised taxes, worked across the aisles with Democrats, and even passed a law ensuring that the indigent can't be turned away from emergency rooms. In fact, had he lived today, they'd be calling him a RINO (Republican In Name Only).


Barry Goldwater would be in the same boat today. He absolutely despised the christian right, yet I know right-wing Christians who loved him.



Last edited by gamefreak on 20 May 2014, 11:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Dox47
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20 May 2014, 11:22 pm

Raptor wrote:
Are YOU on drugs??


If you count massive projection as a drug...


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20 May 2014, 11:52 pm

gamefreak wrote:
Driving a particular vehicle just to appear masculine is totally messed up. Just because you can afford to drive a 600 HP land barge on steroids doesn't make it a good choice. Unless you are doing lots of towing or hauling lots of people and cargo I see no use for anything larger than a sedan or hatchback. The more oil we use than more prices go up, also the more pollution goes in the air. Especially if you suck at parking a vehicle.

To me a car is just a tool to get from point A to point B. Without costing a boatload of money to insure, gets decent gas mileage, is relatively inexpensive on repairs and is practical to boot.

Consider countries like Venezuela that have $0.18 gas prices. Your average car is a rusted out 1970's Full-Size Ford belching out black smoke. If in prime condition this car only manages 10 MPG imagine if it was in that condition. You'll be lucky to get 6 to the gallon. However people in Venezuela see no need to change because "They can afford the gas". Caracas has some of the worst pollution to water and air in the world. Some of it as the result of emissions, others as a result of poor environmental regulations.


When I get my own car (I currently drive my mom's car) I plan to get a 1980s diesel Mercedes. They run forever, and are so practical and easy to repair yourself that it's hard to believe that they're the same company that was making the Maybach land barge during the 2000s. The Maybach was sold face to face to the very rich. The problem with the old Benzes are that the power windows and locks tend to go on the fritz a lot, and most of them have stopped odometers and sometimes the whole instrument cluster is bad. Also, since they used old-style Freon for AC the AC doesn't work. But they're still great cars, and sometimes examples pop up for less than $1000. If you find a Japanese car for that it's on its last legs and the owner is dumping it on somebody dumber than he is. As for South America and old cars, some people in the countryside still drive 1930s cars. And then there's Cuba, where old USA cars are babied.



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21 May 2014, 12:16 am

pezar wrote:
gamefreak wrote:
Driving a particular vehicle just to appear masculine is totally messed up. Just because you can afford to drive a 600 HP land barge on steroids doesn't make it a good choice. Unless you are doing lots of towing or hauling lots of people and cargo I see no use for anything larger than a sedan or hatchback. The more oil we use than more prices go up, also the more pollution goes in the air. Especially if you suck at parking a vehicle.

To me a car is just a tool to get from point A to point B. Without costing a boatload of money to insure, gets decent gas mileage, is relatively inexpensive on repairs and is practical to boot.

Consider countries like Venezuela that have $0.18 gas prices. Your average car is a rusted out 1970's Full-Size Ford belching out black smoke. If in prime condition this car only manages 10 MPG imagine if it was in that condition. You'll be lucky to get 6 to the gallon. However people in Venezuela see no need to change because "They can afford the gas". Caracas has some of the worst pollution to water and air in the world. Some of it as the result of emissions, others as a result of poor environmental regulations.


When I get my own car (I currently drive my mom's car) I plan to get a 1980s diesel Mercedes. They run forever, and are so practical and easy to repair yourself that it's hard to believe that they're the same company that was making the Maybach land barge during the 2000s. The Maybach was sold face to face to the very rich. The problem with the old Benzes are that the power windows and locks tend to go on the fritz a lot, and most of them have stopped odometers and sometimes the whole instrument cluster is bad. Also, since they used old-style Freon for AC the AC doesn't work. But they're still great cars, and sometimes examples pop up for less than $1000. If you find a Japanese car for that it's on its last legs and the owner is dumping it on somebody dumber than he is. As for South America and old cars, some people in the countryside still drive 1930s cars. And then there's Cuba, where old USA cars are babied.


Old 80's model Voltswagen Golf Diesels also aren't bad. They are rather mechanically simplistic (no power anything) and get phenomenal MPG. Only problem is trying to find one. Considering the stigma america has for diesel powered cars.

If looking for something newer try a Geo/ Chevy Prizm. It is essentially a 1990's model Corolla ,but with a GM Badge. Meaning the price has greatly deprecated on them due to the american name. (Mainly due to shoddy build quality of American cars.) Good condition ones go for anywhere between $1,100 and $1,800 were I live. Compared to a Corolla of the same year that often is over $3,000 for a nice one.



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21 May 2014, 1:08 am

Dox47 wrote:
Kraichgauer wrote:
Sure Americans have short memories. Look at how the tea party and the radical rigth of the Republican party has deified Ronald Reagan. Almost everything they say about him as a severely uncompromising conservative is imagined, refusing to admit that he in fact had raised taxes, worked across the aisles with Democrats, and even passed a law ensuring that the indigent can't be turned away from emergency rooms. In fact, had he lived today, they'd be calling him a RINO (Republican In Name Only).


Says the guy who repeatedly fails to notice that he elected George W Bush wearing black face, twice.


Since when did Bush give the country expanded healthcare? When did Bush get us out of wars? Barry O is hardly perfect, but he's still a damn sight better than Bush.


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21 May 2014, 2:59 am

Kraichgauer wrote:
Since when did Bush give the country expanded healthcare?


Medicare part D? Forget about that, didn't ya?

Kraichgauer wrote:
When did Bush get us out of wars?


You do know that Obama has merely adhered to the timetables set by Bush when it comes to getting us out, right? To say nothing of getting us in to Libya and a host of other places that he only talks about when it makes him look good.

Kraichgauer wrote:
Barry O is hardly perfect, but he's still a damn sight better than Bush.


Just keep telling yourself that...


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21 May 2014, 6:36 am

THIS IS WHY AMERICA IS A REPUBLIC AND NOT A DEMOCRACY.

Humans are short-sighted. It is EDUCATION and WISDOM that tells us to not sacrifice tomorrow's promise for a benefit enjoyed today.

All of us are intrinsically designed to want stuff NOW and not give much thought as to tomorrow's needs. It's the object lesson of The Ant and the Grasshopper fable.

People generally don't remember the past when deciding the future. People often make decisions on limited information (the "low information voter" phenomena).

The whole reason there is such resistance to and "national healthcare" in the USA is because enough people remember past government programs and their failures to question if "national healthcare" would actually be a good thing BASED ON PRIOR GOVERNMENT FAILURES. The optimist wants to believe it would solve all our problems. The realist knows the odds of that happening is slim to none.



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21 May 2014, 6:45 am

zer0netgain wrote:
The whole reason there is such resistance to and "national healthcare" in the USA is because enough people remember past government programs and their failures to question if "national healthcare" would actually be a good thing BASED ON PRIOR GOVERNMENT FAILURES. The optimist wants to believe it would solve all our problems. The realist knows the odds of that happening is slim to none.


For the ten billionth time, the ACA is not national healthcare. It is pure health insurance regulation. Every piece of the bill that affects actual medical care is tied directly to health insurance (and/or Medicaid/Medicare) requirements.

And I don't think there is a single person out there that thinks it will solve all our problems, but there are quite a few assuming that many others believe it.


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21 May 2014, 9:31 am

Raptor wrote:
I'll take this SUV anyday over some candyass eco electric/hybrid POS.
Note that it also compliments Stannis's analysis :roll: about America's hatred, dog-eat-dog culture of torture and ultra-violence, and all that other good sh**. :twisted:

[youtube] clip [/youtube]
8O Is that gun for real?
I had no idea bullets could be pumped out that fast without something flying apart. Well, aside from the target, I mean. :wink:


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21 May 2014, 9:59 am

Cornflake wrote:
Raptor wrote:
I'll take this SUV anyday over some candyass eco electric/hybrid POS.
Note that it also compliments Stannis's analysis :roll: about America's hatred, dog-eat-dog culture of torture and ultra-violence, and all that other good sh**. :twisted:

[youtube] clip [/youtube]
8O Is that gun for real?
I had no idea bullets could be pumped out that fast without something flying apart. Well, aside from the target, I mean. :wink:


It's for real.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minigun


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21 May 2014, 10:05 am

Crap, that's outrageous. :lol:
Have you ever fired one? I think I would probably like to have a go... :twisted:


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21 May 2014, 12:17 pm

Dox47 wrote:
Kraichgauer wrote:
Since when did Bush give the country expanded healthcare?


Medicare part D? Forget about that, didn't ya?

Kraichgauer wrote:
When did Bush get us out of wars?


You do know that Obama has merely adhered to the timetables set by Bush when it comes to getting us out, right? To say nothing of getting us in to Libya and a host of other places that he only talks about when it makes him look good.

Kraichgauer wrote:
Barry O is hardly perfect, but he's still a damn sight better than Bush.


Just keep telling yourself that...


I knew you were going to bring up Medicare Part D. It's critics said it was obsolete by the time it started up. That, and it was geared to help only a small part of the population, inlike the ACA.
As for those timeables - if the opposition presented by Bush's suporters against Obama's withdrawl was any indication, we might still be there, carrying on the war full throttle.
And do you seriously believe Bush is better than Obama? I'll remind you, Bush had allowed Wall Street to nearly destroy the economy, which Barry O has been working to fix.


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21 May 2014, 12:57 pm

Cornflake wrote:
Crap, that's outrageous. :lol:
Have you ever fired one? I think I would probably like to have a go... :twisted:


Nope, I've not had the honor of firing a minigun.


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21 May 2014, 1:05 pm

Cornflake wrote:
Crap, that's outrageous. :lol:
Have you ever fired one? I think I would probably like to have a go... :twisted:


I fired a machine gun in the same caliber once. It only fired 650-700 rounds per minute, but they cost $1 per round. It dumped the whole magazine in about two seconds. You'd have to carry 30+ magazines weighing over 50 pounds to fire it for a full minute.

That minigun blew through at least $500 of ammunition in the video.

Rotary guns are common on aircraft: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M61_Vulcan

The Vulcan is much bigger, and it's standard on F-15s, F-16s and a number of other planes.

There's also the Navy's Phalanx anti-missile system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_CIWS



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21 May 2014, 7:33 pm

Kraichgauer wrote:
And do you seriously believe Bush is better than Obama? I'll remind you, Bush had allowed Wall Street to nearly destroy the economy, which Barry O has been working to fix.


By taking Wall Street's money and being even less hard on it that Bush was?
https://www.google.com/search?q=wall+st ... channel=sb
Perhaps you should fact check things you try and "remind" me about, it's kind of embarrassing when your "facts" don't withstand .41 seconds on Google.

I actually think they both suck about equally, albeit in different ways; it's you who goes on about how great Obama is until cornered with the facts, at which point you resort to Bush comparisons. If you have to compare your guy to one of the least popular presidents in history in order to make him look "good", maybe your guy isn't that great to begin with... Just a thought.


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